The secrets of speech are revealed not in what they say, but how they say it.

Oscar winner The King's Speech explores a method of overcoming stammering, just one of many speech problems that could have been highlighted in the film. Indeed, there is still much to learn about talking skills; speech pathology gained scientific recognition barely half a century ago.

Yet every time politicians speak publicly, they present evidence of their skills and deficiencies. They are perfect subjects for forensic speech analysis.

Everyone's speech manner comprises their own collection of speech traits and skills. These include accent, personality, speech rate, idiosyncrasies, speaking style, command over words and more. They give clues to a volume of unstated information.

All politicians have their own ''Achilles words'' - difficulties pronouncing certain words. Julia Gillard says ''speryeaker'' instead of speaker and ''beleryeve'' instead of believe. New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally says ''vulnable'' instead of vulnerable, her Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, says ''infrastrucha'' instead of infrastructure, while their Liberal opponents Barry O'Farrell and Gladys Berejiklian both have difficulties saying government. He says ''guvvament'', she says ''gumment'' while Tony Abbott says ''guvment''. Victorian Mary Wooldridge calls her own ministry ''communidy services''.

Speech can be broken up into core skills and advanced skills. A few core skills are language, judgment, articulation, understandability, tone, thinking rate, and musicality (melody and rhythm). All core skills function at various levels every time we speak.

Politicians, in particular, need excellent judgment when they open their mouths. Those who repeatedly make gaffes find it difficult to balance the cerebral with the intuitive (think Jeff Kennett).

Composition is a language and processing skill that requires accuracy of expression, access to a subconscious storehouse of words, good word choice and syntax (think Bill Shorten). The thinking rate always needs to be faster than the speech rate, and there needs to be a functional correlation between the two.

Everybody has some element of tone to their speech. It is the sum of the energy, sound, intent, colour, resonance and meaning. It is a central part of the delivery that forms impressions (think Anna Bligh). ''Impression'' provides something to stand out. It can be formed by a dominant single quality (say, Kevin Rudd's resonant edginess) or the sum of a fusion of qualities (Kristina Keneally). There can be no universality with impressions due to the large spectrum of speech components.

''Resonant placement'' depends on a combination of speech skills working together to project the whole voice. When the respiratory, vocal and articulatory muscles co-ordinate and function seamlessly, an excellent level of resonance can be achieved (think Geoffrey Rush).

''Speech musicality'' refers to speech melody and rhythm. It is central to the spell of holding the listener's attention. Having some melody in a speaking voice is an antidote to sounding monotonous. Most spoken melody patterns venture within one octave range, but more expressive speakers can extend beyond this. Speech rhythm is also important and is driven by the speech rate. If rhythm is lacking, the speech rate will be poor.

More advanced speakers can access a collection of extra skills - wit, tact, charm, humour, nuancing, presence and likeability.

Analysis of speech skills entails listening to the voice holistically, then weighing up the different skill components; rating the content, understandability, pitch resonance, articulation, speech rate, fluency, manner, volume control.

Negative characteristics can be dismissed as an aberration if they occur just once, but if there is a pattern, there is an issue; patterns speak volumes. Voice analysis assesses each of the skills and identifies the energy, dominant component, strengths and weaknesses.

Pitch and tone can reflect levels of sincerity and anxiety; restricted articulation and shaky voice tend to indicate higher anxiety levels. Relaxed articulation, fluency and a well-paced speech rate denote confidence (think Malcolm Turnbull). The energy of presentation usually reveals the level of passion for a subject (think Steve Irwin). Intent can express mood and present stances with a moral imperative (think Tim Flannery). Speech melody can indicate whether the words are voluntary and natural, or obligatory and automatic. Words that add up to nothing more than hot air can indicate something to hide or nothing to say.

But there is one catch to speech analysis. The complexity of speech can lead to the possibility of making incorrect conclusions. Yet even when conclusions are accurate, the reasons behind them may not be obvious, as exemplified by Abbott and his unforgettable pregnant silence with Seven reporter Mark Riley - he was not having a stroke as many initially thought. The art of interpreting speech should always allow for margins of error.

The King's Speech illustrates how important it is to speak well when the stakes are high. Politicians need to be especially adept because their advocacy can determine the destiny of many people. Speaking with excellent skills is important for the national interest. Just ask King George VI.

Dean Frenkel is a vocal coach, an overtone singer and author of the forthcoming book Evolution of Speech.